Fifteen years after launching Spanx out of her Atlanta apartment, Sara Blakely is still aiming to revolutionize the way women look in their clothes. In 2014, the self-made billionaire introduced slimming denim to a line of products that started with footless pantyhose and now includes everything from bras to yoga apparel. The company underwent some upheaval this past year when longtime CEO Laurie Ann

Goldman parted ways with the company; former Nike apparel exec Jan Singer has since come on board in the top role. Blakely has come a long way since age 29, when she invested her $5,000 life savings trying to come up with something flattering to wear under her white slacks. Six months later the one-time Disney World ride greeter and door-to-door fax machine salesperson found her new line of shaping underwear named one of Oprah Winfrey's Favorite Things. She still owns 100% of the company, which remains staunchly private despite persistent IPO rumors.

More On Forbes

Is an Uber-ized, free agent economy one of abundance—or scarcity, deprivation and economic insecurity for workers? Or both? And how can we keep society fair when more people are getting work through digital middlemen and other nontraditional routes?

These are not easy questions to address. But with President Obama placing “middle class read »

The middle class is almost dead. But perhaps there’s no reason to grieve. For one thing, the American middle class that followed World War II may have been a historical anomaly—a quirk of fate that lulled tens of millions of Americans into a false sense that we were entitled to economic stability and reckless consumerism. It’s time to snap out read »

When Sara Blakely came up with the idea for Spanx, she had never taken a business course, had failed the LSAT twice and was selling fax machines door-to-door to make a living. She knew nothing about business, inventing things, or hosiery. And because she knew nothing, she changed the industry. read »

By the graces of Sungard Availability Services, a company for whom I interned last summer, I found myself at the Forbes Under 30 Summit last weekend in Philadelphia. Sitting among the most accomplished young men and women in the country, it’s no surprise that feelings of both awe and intimidation formed in the pit of my stomach. But as the event read »

In the early days of Spanx, inventor Sara Blakely didn’t have the money to hire a patent lawyer, let alone a full team to support her new business. Her office was her Atlanta apartment. Her fulfillment center was her bathroom, filled with Jiffy envelopes of her product, the now-ubiquitous shapewear that has since made her a billionaire. read »

Asia has a record number of billionaires on the new Forbes Billionaires List out yesterday, a sign of great prosperity. Yet many pillars of the Asian business landscape are now in their twilight years. Among them, Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, is 86.

What are the risks involved when great wealth and power pass from one generation to read »

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was threatened by supporters of the Islamic State, raising the issue of how social media can be used both to liberate the oppressed and to spread fear and messages of terror. read »